Red Haze: Diaries From The Rebellion
by JyrFalcon345
Summary: A raw vivid retelling of the events of the Rebellion Through Frieda's eyes. May have entries from others in her platoon as well. This was written for Oemi.
1. Chapter 1

"_It's funny…I remember how exited the rest of the colony was when it all started. The air was filled with turbulent adolescents and adults all ready for battle. They thought it was a game…sport. They were wrong. War is hell- Frieda_

_Day 1: "It finally happened. A declaration of war has been received from the Owls. Not that we're surprised of course. Half of the colonies in the northern region have been itching to retaliate after the owl Imperium flash burned two nursery roosts. I heard from a friend that the elders have placed a draft in effect. I volunteered of course. Troops are streaming in from at least 15 different colonies. It has begun…_

_Day 13: I've completed the training phase…rudimentary though it was. Simple dog fighting techniques, evasion, formation flying… I'm praying that my instincts will take over in the battle field. We're prepping for immediate departure, five hours to say goodbye to family and friends…not that I had many. My mother and father of course. No one else. I must go…_

_Day 15-We are currently en route to the forward boundaries of our operating theatre. The front lines so to speak. I now belong to the just christened 'Moonbeam Platoon" 1000 males and females flying together with a few higher ranking officers. It can get pretty loud. I've actually made a few friends, a female named Xena and a male named Xavier. Xena's quiet but strong minded. Xavier's a complete firebrand. Impulsive, rather brutish at times. Frankly I can't understand why almost all of the females are going after him. _

_My commanding officer said that we'd not probably hit combat until we hit the lines. Xavier says he's ready to fight. We all __say__ it. But weather any of us are ready…that stands to be tested._


	2. Beginnings

_Day 16: You never realize just how creepy your surroundings can be until you're assigned to daywatch patrol. One of the damn sergeants said I hadn't groomed my coat to his satisfaction…frankly I think he's jealous considering the generous sprinklings of bald patches on his left wing. Each watcher is instructed to describe a circular pattern around their group (the platoons split into small groups of fifty during rest periods, thus if one group gets hit we'll hear their bloodcurdling screams and be able to mount an attack-of some sort ) _

_I had the luck of being forced to run a low altitude pattern, Xavier had gotten lucky and been assigned to treetop watch, lucky bugger. Each watch is two hours long, and you get to the point where if you haven't had your retinas burned out by the sunlight you're lucky. On the plus side I got to taste a new sort of moth, one of the squad mates says it's a Monarch Butterfly. Not half bad. _

_To top it off my relief watch was late, so I had to wait for his sorry rear to show before I could head back to the main group. After about fifteen minutes of fuming he showed._

_My anger dissipated when I saw how young he was. Probably managed to skip through on the entrance checklist because of his size. I left him with a wave then ran into Xavier on my way down. Apparently our watches ended at the same point-which isn't supposed to happen, the owls would pick up on this as a security flaw in an instant. _

_We both decided to roost away from the main group, bats sleeping together is just a target for any prying birds. He and I were both completely wired, and spend half the day looking around half crazed from lack of sleep. Eventually we did so. I awoke before he did. Actually Xavier isn't half bad looking when the moon hits his face just right…_

_Day 17- You'd never expect to hear these words from a bat but here they are- I am sick of flying. We are on a very strenuous flight plan, apparently our entire platoon has fallen behind the main body and we've got 7 hours to reach the Convergence point, a pine forest 43,000 wingbeats from here. I've been flying at full speed for the past three hours and am currently considering assaulting my sergeant (yes the balding one) who keeps yelling 'Faster you lot' incessantly. Does he not realize that all beings have their limits? _

_I swear I've developed muscles that I didn't know I had. Which has the added benefit of causing Xavier to look at me in a kinder light. Not that I'd even consider…that. I look for intelligence in males, not good looks and heavy build, (although Xavier posses much of this. ) I'd best stop talking and conserve my breath, that sergeant has started up again. Did I mention he's in the very END of the column? Until next time…_

_Day 21- We reached the Convergence point three days ago, and I'm still amazed that the area can support this number of bats. Supposedly they scouted the area beforehand. Our group's being split up so we said our goodbyes. I'll miss Xavier…to a point. Xena's staying with our group however. We've pretty much become friends._

_Later in the evening I was registered with the combat strike team: "Echo Squadron Zeta." Apparently someone in the upper brass thought I did a damn good showing in the trials and sent me to the front lines. Great…I can almost feel my life expectancy dropping._

_The squadron is composed of about 15 bats, apparently combat efficiency is dependent upon a few skilled team members rather than hundreds of idiots. That is all that I can say at the moment…_

_Day 23-_ ECHO TRANSCOM- 3.2234.4 GHz: All units report Combat ready. Scouting parties have sighted enemy troop movement to the southeast. Large force heading toward the general vicinity. 3 nights distant. All troops prepare for engagement according to pre-determined parameters.

_Day 25- How in the hell the Owls managed to find us is beyond me. Supposedly they had Intel on our movements for three days. We've been upgraded to combat ready status. Current mission is to utilize one of our Special-ops members, Cassiel's sonic blanketing ability to mute our troops movements as they spread down the valley ridge. We'll not be alone, as we've got fifteen other groups working in tandem, wiping all sonic traces of wingbeats from the air. _

_Day 25- We're on patrol at the moment, covering our tracks. I caught sight of Moonbeam Platoon moving just a few hundred wingbeats from us. Surprisingly enough when bats are scared, they instinctively fly much quieter. Xena and I watch each other constantly, she's always at my wingtip. Apparently she grew up in a much colder climate than ours, and is having trouble due to her winter coat. Odd how seasons can vary based upon region. I groomed her fur during the morning hours, and she swears it reminds her of how her mother treated her before she left. _

_Day 28- _ECHO TRANSCOM- 3.2234.4 GHz:Owl Force composition is light, 15 owls flying in a rigid delta wing formation. Possibly a heavy scouting party. They haven't noticed our presence yet. Have settled into area. High possibility that they stumbled across main troop body location by accident.

Recommend immediate elimination of group. Terminate with extreme prejudice.


	3. Commencement

_Hello there Oemi. This took me a while to hash out but I think you'll like it. Tell me what you think. _

Stage II-Assault.

Day 26-_The order has been received for us to eliminate the owl patrol group which has taken up residence in the clearing where not three days ago, a sizable portion of our army resided. I've never seen an owl before. They're terrifying creatures, the hooked beak, the shredding talons… how we are to attack them I do not know-yet. Our commander is formulating an attack plan as we speak. Considering the fact that we have the numerical advantage it would be logical to assume that a simple daytime attack would make eliminating them quite simple. They are young, some still have vestiges of downy plumage clinging to their feathers. It surprises me that the opposing forces have sent so many young ones into battle. Perhaps we can use their inexperience to our advantage… They are loud and boisterous, with continuous talk of how they'll eliminate us in no uncertain terms. By the time the sun has reached high noon, they shall know the folly of their decision. My mother and father had siblings that lived in the nursery roosts which were burned down by the owls. _

_The horror of it. To have one's very flesh and spirit consumed by fire. I shall make them pay personally for the loss my family has suffered. The wind is light, blowing toward us constantly so that we always can smell their hateful stench. On the one hand we always know their position which never shifts. But the downside to this is obvious.,.. One can only regrow their nostril hair so many times… Insects in this area are plentiful, meaning that we need not shift from our position at all. But one does get rather bored after eating midges for two nights in a row. Sleep calls to me…_

_Day 27- An attack plan has been mustered. As there are fifteen owls, for each soldier (newborn seems more like it considering their lack of experience) we would need one to distract them with echo bombardment, and two to kill them. That's the plan. Whether it can be executed fully is to be seen. Strangely my mind flits back to memories of Xavier. I hope that his platoon is safely hidden in the valley. And I pray for Nocturna's sake that he doesn't do anything stupid. _

_Day 27- I have no remorse for what I did. Something inside me snapped when we moved upon them, I was filled with a livid rage, an all consuming fire that ate away all shreds of pity that I had for them. And why should I pity them at all? We have been an oppressed race for thousands of years, kept in the dark, forced to move our colonies constantly to prevent the owl magistrates from flash burning our roosts. We planned this one for a decade. There have been other uprisings by nocturnal species, raccoons, rats. All were poorly planned and failed within a month of their enaction. We have trained our armies for years, planned for every conceivable outcome. We know their weaknesses. Our victory is assured. _

_Day 28- I feel like a horrid beast. In my mind I could hear the screams of terror the young combatants uttered as we slew them mercilessly. As I fought, I cursed them, I cursed them in the name of my family in the dread name of the goddess herself. My teeth clamped down reflexively on the throat of one, and I heard his strangled plea for mercy. I merely laughed in the face of his horror. It makes no sense. They deserved no mercy after what they did. My family was in mourning for a month due to this. Why do I feel as though I have lost a bit of myself in the process?_

_Xena fought like a true warrior, killing two single handedly. She came away with a scrape or two but nothing serious. We both desire sleep._

_Day 28- There was one drawback to eliminating the patrol group. The wind was blowing fiercely carrying the thick smell of battle upon it's silken wings. As we can contrive no method of disposing of the corpses our group must retreat into the valley with the rest of our group. For once I am in agreement with this train of reasoning. We will have strength in numbers. And the thought of seeing Xavier is surprisingly comforting._

_NOTE: The next segment is a transcript from the Chief Tactician of the Owl Imperium's own personal diaries. _

_Entry # 1.22.3: The plan has worked well. The bats eliminated the group easily. 15 soldiers is a small price to pay for a basic understanding of their attack patterns. Our army numbers in the tens of thousands and our numbers increase daily. The parents are angered by my actions, but this does not concern me. We must quell this rebellion. The bats must be taught the meaning of our rule. Our soldiers shall know the taste of blood soon…_


	4. Prepare to engage

_Day 29: This is the first time I have seen our forces en masse…the outlook seems encouraging to say the least. Our battlegroup has melded into a large morass of bodies, the commanders are conferring with the Home Tree an undisclosed location where our military planners do their work. _

_Heard a couple of rumors that a couple dozen bats lost their lives…including a high ranking communications officer...if it had happened we'd have been shifting location all day. _

_That's what happens when soldiers on the same side meet after a period of time…stuff starts. On a more interesting note, I caught sight of Xavier during a guard change… we managed to get on the same watch shift and ended up roosting together. _

_I don't know if it's the general atmosphere of tension that's filling the air or what…my emotions have been in a knot ever since I saw him. I see him and then I look out at the valley, at the setting sun on the horizon. I'm afraid suddenly. It makes no since but I am scared. _

_Xavier's quite gung ho about the entire thing, cracking jokes with me, roughhousing… being a regular male, i,e a complete ass. _

_He's asleep right now, we're to make the strike at 0430 hrs. And like 1000 other soldiers on a thousand other battlefields I wait for the night._


End file.
